


The Dark Clouds Above Me

by DaggerFallen



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: a little bit of dungeon dice monsters, just a nice cafe au, just a nice friendship fic, no dueling, otogi needs actual friends, this is about him realizing they were right there all along
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 00:03:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20164840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaggerFallen/pseuds/DaggerFallen
Summary: Ryuji Otogi spent much of his childhood building a game with his father, but when he tries to get it sold it doesn't even begin to take off. What he certainly doesn't expect is help from his father's rival's grandson or the boy's lackies for that matter.





	The Dark Clouds Above Me

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like i couldve gone more in depth with this so i might come back and rewrite it better. Idk why i get the feeling that its missing something.

No kickstarts… again…

This was the fifth time in the past year that he had tried to get funds towards his project, and the fifth time that no one seemed interested in wat he was going after. He didn’t know if they just didn’t see the full picture, or if the headline for his article wasn’t eye catching enough; perhaps better art would suit it better, but still there was no feedback from _anyone._

DDM, or Dungeon Dice Monsters was an idea that Ryuji Otogi had been working on for a better part of his childhood. It was inspired by the game he had grown up loving to play, Duel Monsters, but with extra twists that he felt really brought life and depth to the monsters, rather than just a simple card game. His late father had helped him structure the game to be great, and he certainly thought that it was.

He had expected people online to see what he was going for and jump on board, but sadly enough he had even gotten comments on it. Not even a like.

So here he was, wiping off the table at a local coffee shop to try and make some extra cash. It was hard on top of school, especially when you had a super genius like Seto Kaiba in the same grade as your own. Everyone expected a lot more of the kids going to Domino High with him there. It was more of a nuisance than a pleasure.

He just needed to get his own game published. At least before the rival game shop had the opportunity to publish their own. Otogi’s father had never gotten along well with the Muto family, likely because the Kame Game Shop had always been just a bit more successful than their own. His father had grown obsessed with the competition, and in his passing, he had left his legacy to Otogi who was now scrapping together whatever money he could to endorse this game.

Otogi himself had grown to hate the Kame Game Shop as well. It had been drilled into his mind that they had always wanted to be better than his own game shop. To the point of conceitedness and mockery.

Which was why when Yugi Muto, the grandson of the game shop owner, stepped into the coffee shop Otogi couldn’t help but glare daggers at the smaller teen. The fact that Yugi always seemed so cheery despite the absolute hilarity that his game shop drove Otogi’s father to was sickening to him.

Not only that, but Yugi always had friends with him, one of which didn’t look like someone that Otogi wanted to mess with. The thuggish, bleach blond, teen next to him looked like a stark contrast to the five-foot boy who had just sat at the table. Otogi recognized him as Jounouchi Katsuya from school, along with the other two, Anzu and Honda.

“You got a problem?” Otogi snapped back into reality when he realized that Jounouchi was sending his own glare back at him. It wasn’t often he saw the man without a smile on his face like the rest of them, but he knew that the ex-gang member could probably sense ill intentions, no matter how dense he may have been.

“Uh, not really, just here to tell you that the seasonal brew is back as of today,” Otogi laid on the charm that he was used to presenting whenever he needed out of trouble. Not to mention he had a reputation at the school to uphold. Everyone knew him as the playboy type, which was better than being a nobody he supposed, but it wasn’t quite the recognition that he had wanted.

“Ooh, I think I’m gonna order that then,” Anzu smiled, lighting up the mood a little, which gave Otogi the opportunity to slip over to some other tables and clean there instead.

“Nah, don’t be a wuss Anzu. I’m gonna get as many shots of espresso as I can take!” A grin made its way back onto Jounouchi’s face and he sat down with his friends. Otogi sighed in relief and wiped down the last table for now, though their laughter and quips at each other only made him feel more mocked than he had felt before just at the presence of the crew.

“I’ll go order for us,” Yugi stood up with a doting smile, its radiance almost piercing the dark, stagnant corner where Otogi resided. He decided that they wouldn’t be here long. None of his customers were, save for the older couple in the mornings.

But as if everything wanted to go against him, he saw Yugi glance over to his break table in curiosity after placing his order. He thought nothing of it until he realized that the sample pieces of DDM as well as the laptop he had his rulebook on had been left there since his last break since business hadn’t picked up enough for him to feel like moving it.

The black-haired boy’s heart leapt out of his chest and he hurried over to block Yugi’s view of the game.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is that yours?” Yugi asked with an apologetic smile, “I really am a huge nerd for games, and it looked really interesting. Could I ask what it is?”

He tried to formulate an excuse but bluffing to a game nut wasn’t really his best option, “It’s a game… that I made,” his glare returned in an attempt to scare the boy off. He was at least taller than Yugi, which he felt gave him some form of edge. Even if that edge was actually nonexistent.

“Whoa really?” that only seemed to intrigue Yugi more, which wasn’t what he had been hoping for.

“Hey Yugi, whats going on over here?” Jounouchi was soon next to his friend, and Otogi’s hopes seemed to drop with every friend that followed after, “Is that a game? Think you can beat it, King of Games?”

Yugi scratched the back of his head sheepishly at Jounouchi’s taunts, but in all actuality Otogi could tell that Yugi was dying to play it. Every game enthusiast had the same look in their eyes when they were intrigued by a game. He wouldn’t let Yugi play though. For all he knew he was just looking to steal the idea and pitch it to Industrial Illusions to one up Otogi’s smaller shop yet again.

“Its not my game, Jou. It’s up to him if he lets me play it,” he smiled back at the much taller teen.

That sentence hit Otogi a little harder than he felt it should have. He was asking to play it instead of demanding. All the demonizing things his father had told him ran through his mind once before he shook his head. He needed to take a step back and look at his options.

His eyes trailed from Yugi’s crew, then to the rag he had been using to clean the tables.

“Fine, you’re on. If you beat me you can have the game to sell as your own, but if I win… then you pitch the idea to Pegasus J. Crawford himself,” Otogi taunted as he pulled up the rules. He didn’t give Yugi time to say any biting remarks that might throw him off his game, and instead he began setting up the board on the table.

Yugi looked over each of the playing pieces as he read the rules and nodded in understanding. Soon he was ready to play.

As the game started Otogi cold feel the surmounting pressure of the odds. Here he was, asking a tactical genius to play his game against him. If he lost, his life’s work was over, and his father’s name was ground into the dust by the one group of people he hated the most.

But even worse was the fact that through every struggled turn, Yugi seemed to be having the time of his life. Every move brought a smile to his face, every roll of the dice gave him a determined look, even as he was losing. He complimented design factors, gameplay, balance, everything. As if he was telling Otogi how good a game he had made.

But that couldn’t be right.

“Ooh, once this round is over, its my turn!” Jounouchi said as he leaned excitedly against the back of Yugi’s booth.

The horrible feeling of shame washed over him. They were so confident in the fact that he would lose that they were enjoying this. Horrid thoughts overwhelmed him, creating a could in his mind. Before he even knew it, it was over.

“You did it Yugi!” Anzu clapped for him and Honda gave a thumbs up while Otogi himself felt his spirit crumbling in defeat.

It was all just white noise now.

…

“When you get this published, Otogi, I cant wait to have it sold in my shop. A best seller for sure!” Otogi’s head snapped up and he made eye contact with the genuine lavender gaze that Yugi gave him back.

“Wait, you’re… not going to take my game?” he asked very warily, wondering how thin the ice was that he was skating on.

“Of course not! I can tell when a person has put their heart and soul into a game like this. It’d be downright evil to take something that someone worked hard towards,” Yugi gave a small grin.

For a moment it didn’t process. The fact that his father may have been wrong about the Muto family was never one that had crossed his mind. Yet here was Yugi, talking to Otogi as if they were friends.

“You should definitely come by the shop sometime so that we can play some other games together,” Yugi nodded, but was then cut off by Jounouchi.

“But first, set it up for me to play a round! If Yugi can do it then so can I!” he cracked his knuckles.

“I’ll be sure to tell Pegasus about your game too,” Yugi winked.

For the first time Otogi felt that dark cloud around him dissipate. The light laughter that he felt was mocking him rather filled him with a more light and airy feeling. The blockade that \kept him from feeling their joy and fun crumbled and left him at the center of the group.

Otogi smirked and set up the board once again, “You’re on, but I doubt you could beat the master and creator of DDM. Only the King of Games has that privilege.”


End file.
